The present invention relates to confectionery products having breath freshening attributes, particularly pressed tablets, deposited hard candy and tablet chewing gum, and methods of producing and using such confectionery products. More particularly, the invention relates to confectionery products having an abrasive surface that is suitable for scrubbing the top surface of the human tongue and having a width that is at least 1.6 times the thickness of the product.
The existence of bad breath has long been a serious problem. Mouth odor is embarrassing at the least, and may diminish personal interactions. The reasons for its occurrence have not been fully understood, and there have been many attempts to overcome its effects. Plaque formed on the tongue is believed to be a major contributor to bad breath.
Various devices and products have been devised for cleansing the mouth and freshening the breath, notably the toothbrush, dental floss, mouthwash, aromatic candies, and toothpick. However, each of these has disadvantages.
Breath-freshening candies have the disadvantage of merely masking the odor, and not actually removing or breaking down odor-causing particles. Most of the consumer mass-marketed breath-freshener products (gums, mints, rinses, pastes, and strips) do not eliminate the source of bad breath, they just mask breath problems. Other products, and mechanical scrubbing devices, have also been proposed.
Even with these many products there is still room for improvement. For example, a product which is spherical, or otherwise has a thickness that is nearly as great as its width, has a hard time being used to scrape the surface of the tongue because the product rolls around in the mouth instead of staying in one place while the tongue scrapes against it. Life Saver® pressed mints are not sold as a breath-freshening product, and the mints cannot be used to scrape the tongue because surface lettering on the mints is not high enough to provide sufficient tongue cleaning before the lettering is eroded. The use of a lollipop for scrubbing the tongue has the disadvantage that it cannot be done very discretely, as the handle has to be manipulated and protrudes out of the mouth. A product that is made out of a combination of a soft candy material and a hard candy material is more difficult and costly to produce and package than a product that is either completely hard or soft. Thus there is still a need for an easily produced product which can be used to discretely scrub the tongue and reduce or remove tongue plaque, yet still be enjoyed as a confectionery. Therefore, the need exists for a product and method of freshening breath that is safe, portable, discrete and effective.